Slug casting machine



June 20, 1933.

E. W. PIERSON ET AL swe CASTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l uimim .1 a 1 June 20, 1933.

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. w. PIERSON El AL 5,031

I x] INVENTORS "I I I 7 TT RNEYS Patented June 20, 1933 urrsn stares l,9l5,03l-

PATENT I FICE EDWIN \V. PIEBSON, OF NEVLARK, NEV] JERSEY, AND FRED C. GRUlVIlVIAN, F NORWALK,

CONNECTICUT; $AID GRUMMAN ASSEGNOR TO MEItG-ENTHALEB LINOTYPE COM- lliNY, J1 COB/P035 TIGN 6F NEW YORK SLUG CASTING MACHINE Application filed September This invention relates to slug casting machines, such as linotype machines of the general organization represented in U. S. Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler No. 436,532, wherein a melting pot is arranged to deliver vmolten metal into a slotted mold and up against a composed line of matrices to produce a type bar or slug bearing on its edge type characters corresponding to the intaglio characters of the n'iatrices. In these machines, the molds (usually four in number) are mounted in a rotatable wheel or disk which may be adjusted manually to bring any selected mold into use. During each cycle or operation, the active mold, by successive partial rotations of the disk, is first presented in a horizontal position for the casting of the slug and thereafter in a vertical position for the ejection of the cast slug. As the cast slug ejected from the mold, it is pushed through or between a pair of fixed vertical trimming knives mounted in the machine finale and which act upon the opposite side faces of the slug to bring it to the exact thickness required.

The molds are secured in permanent positions on the rotatable wheel or disk with their respective slots or cavities spaced equidistantly from the axis of rotation, and the trimming knives are located in similar relation to said axis so as to stand in registry with the slot of the active mold at the time oil ejection of the slugs, it being understood of course that the distance between the knives is adjusted to correspond with the width of the mold slot. The rotatable disk is usually formed with apertures or pockets wherein the molds are mounted, the lower or body portions of the molds being recessed or cut away in their rear side faces so as to fit within said pockets, and being provided with clamp screws which hold them firmly against the face of the disk. 7

Each mold is supported within its holding pocket by means of two contacting surfaces, one formed on the mold itself (the under face of the body portion), and the other formed on the lower or inner wall of the holding pocket. Great care and accuracy have to be observed in machining these surfaces, since 2, 1931. Serial N0. 560,750.

they alone determine the position of the mold on the carryin disk and the relation the mold bears to the slug trinn'ning knives when the mold is in the slug ejecting position. In other words, unless said supporting surfaces are perfectly true and are properly spaced from the axis of the disk, the mold slot will in consequence stand out of line or parallelism with the knives at the time of ejection and the slugs will be unevenly trimmed.

In spite of the accuracy observed in manufacture, it occasionally happens that, because of the wear in the disk bearings, warping of the mold or the mold disk due to the alternate coutracti on and expansion of the parts, or for other reasons known to the art, the mold supporting surfaces in time lose their original shape or position relative to the axis of the mold disk and thus destroy the alignment of the molds with the trimming knives, resultin g in imperfect slugs and entailing considerable time and labor in rectifying the trouble.

The present invention is intended to overcome these and other difficulties, and contemplates a simple expedient for positioning or repositioning the molds within the pockets without depending upon the accuracy of the mold supporting surfaces as heretofore necessary. To this end, the molds, instead of banking directly upon the pocket walls, are sustained by means of adjustable interponents arranged between said walls and the mold bodies. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, these interponents are in the form of partially rotatable pins mounted transve 'sely in the molds at selected points in the length thereof, and having eccentric rearward extensions engaging the supporting wall of the pockets, whereby the rotary adjustment of the pins will tilt or move the molds bodily in relation to the pocket walls. The exact construction will best be understood from the detailed description to follow.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely in preferred form and by way of example, but obviously many changes and variations may be made therein and in its mode of application, which will still be comprised within its spirit. It should, therefore, be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a socalled head-letter or recessed mold equipped with the present improvements;

F 2 is a rear elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken 011 the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. alis an enlarged detail, showing in full and dotted lines respectively different adjusted positions of the mold relative to the disk;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 55 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a regular unrecessed mold, showing the application of the present improvements thereto.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the mold A (of the recessed or head-letter wriety) is mounted in the rotatable wheel or disk B, the latter being of standard construction and having a. capacity of four molds, any one of which may be brought into use by a manual adjust ment of the disk about its axis. Generally, the mold A comprises a body portion A a cap portion A and intermediate end liners A", A these parts being held together in proper assembled relation by upright posts A rising from the body nation A and engaging in open notches a Fig. 5) formed in the opposite ends of the cap portion A. The disk B is provided as usual with apertures or socalled poclicts B wherein the molds are positioned, and which permit the selected mold, during casting, to be clamped directly between the mouthpiece of the metal pot at the rear and the composed matrix line at the front.

The mold holding pockets B (see Fi and 2) are each defined by a lower horizontal wall B two vertical side walls B and an upper wall B", the latter wall being directly opposed to the lower wall and shaped to conform with the contour of the mold cap A The lower or body portion A of the mold A presents a. plain or flat casting surface o which forms one side wall of the mold slot, while the cap portion A presents an uneven casting surface which forms the other side wall of the mold slot, being provided in its front face with a longitudinal groove a and in its under face with a series of transverse grooves (Hand intermediate core sections or filling pieces a. A slug cast in the mold A will, therefore, comprise a thin body portion, an overhanging face portion or shelf upon which the type characters are formed, and a series of transverse ribs projecting laterally from the body portion and giving support to the overhanging shelf. At the front, the body portion A is provided with the customary aligning rib or lip A with which the lower projecting ears of the matrices on gage, and at the rear it is recessed or cut away so as to provide a longitudinal ledge A which has heretofore rested directly upon the lower wall B of the mold holding pocket B hen the mold A is mounted in its pocket B it is customarily anchored in place against the face of the disk 13 by retaining screws A and ordinarily the lower surface a of the ledge A is made to fit accurately upon the upper finished surface 7) of the lower pocket wall Pf. As may be noted in Fig. 3, the wall B is disposed directly below overhead bind ing screws B mounted in the upper wall 13* of the pocket B, and which, although i11- tended n'imarily to clamp the cap portion A down upon the liners A A" act also to press the body portion A or the mold as a whole down upon the pocket surface .7).

However, as previously stated, the mold surfaces a and the pocket surfaces Z), for one reason or another, eventually shrink or get out of true even if made accurate to start with, and in ccmsequence the molds are caused to assume a false or improper position in their holding pockets B. The present invention overcomes this dilliculty and provides means whereby the molds may be positioned within their holding pockets by an adj ustabl three-point support such that they can be set or forced (if necessary) into proper position on the disk B without regard to the accuracy of the mold surfaces a or the pocket surfaces 5.

Such means, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, consists of three rotatable hardened steel pins mounted transversely in the body portion A of the mold A, one D at each end of the mold and the other D at the center. These pins are provided with screw heads D accesible from the front of the mold to facilitate their rotation, and are formed with rearwardly extending eccentric portions D adapted to engage the banking surface 6 of the wall B when the mold is positioned within its pocket B The pins D and D are disposed in a hori- Zontal line immediately below the matrix aligning rib A of the mold A, and to prevent interference between the center pin D and the lower projecting ears of the matrices, the head of said pin is seated in a recess or counter-bore A formed in the front face of the body portion A (see Figs. 1 and The holes for the two end pins D are also counter-bored, as shown in Fig. 5, but such construction is not essential since these pins are located beyondthe opposite ends of a matrix line of the maximum length.

To hold or lock the mold adjusting pins normally against rotatitm, set screws D of the ordinary kind, and which are arranged conveniently in notches A at the opposite ends of the mold body A are provided for the end pins D, while a. set screw D of a special design is provided for the center pin D This particular set screw D is mounted in the mold. body A adjacent and parallel to the center pin D and is formed with an enlarged head portion (Z, which engages a segmental flange (Z integral with the screw head of the pin D". The heads of both the pin D and set screw D as well'as the segmental flange (Z lie within the recess A before referred to, and the latter is under-cut at (Z to accommodate the flange (Z and permit a full rotation 01" the pin D. When the set screw D" is tightened up, its head (Z is adapted to clamp the flange d securely against the vertical rear face-of the recess 1 9 and thus lock the pin D against rotation. The other set screws D' function in a similar manner but they bind against the shanks of the pins D in the customary way.

As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the eccentric portions D of the pins D and D are substantially as long the supporting surface 6 is wide, and hence they provide adequate and desirable means oi? support for the mold when it is positioned within its holding pocket B Moreover, (see Fig. l), the sup porting pins are vertically aligned with the three overhead screws B so that the pressure exerted by these screws individually will be transmitted,directly to the disk B. It may be noted that the location of the pins D and D relative to the supporting surface 6 is such that, in either the high or low position of the eccentric portions D (see Fig. 4) the lower surface a of the ledge A of the mold will be sustained at a level above or out of contact with the surface 6, the latter in the present instance thus acting to support the mold as usual but through the medium of'the adjusting pins. Consequently, no special accuracy is required in machining the surfaces a and b, particularly the latter (tour of which have to be considered in finishing a disk of standard construction), representing a considerable saving in the cost of 111anuiacture.

It will now be seen, according to the above arrangement, that when it is desired to position or reposition a mold in its pocket E the overhead binding screws B in the periphery of the disk B, as well as the retaining screws A in the front of the mold A, are first loosened to permit movement of the mold bodily toward or from the supporting surface Z). In this connection, it will be understood (see Figs. l and 5) that snliicient clearance between the retaining screws r S and the walls of the screw holes is provided to allow such bodily movement of the mold A. The set screws D and D for the pins D and D,

respectively, are then turned to unlock said pins, and the latter with the aid of a screw driver may thereupon be adj usteed to set the eccentric portions D in whatever position or relation may be required. By this operation, the mold is raised or lowered, in angular or parallel relation to the supporting sur face I), and after the proper position of the mold has been attained, the set screws D and D are tightened up to lock the adjusting pins D and D against displacement. Finally, the mold is clamped in place by means of the overhead screws B which press the adjusting pins securely down upon the bank ing surface I), and by the screws A which anchor the mold facewise to the disk.

In the case of a warped mold, the adjustmentof the pins D and D may if required be resorted to only for straightening out the mold or bringing its slot back into parallelism with the trimming knives. Thus if the conditions demanded that the opposite ends of the mold be slightly depressed to straight en out a warped mold, the two end pins D could be turned to permit such depression, reliance being placed upon the opposed clamping screws B to etlect it.

It may here be stated that the eccentricity of the adjusting pins D and D is intended merely to give a very small range of adjustment of the mold and in no case to be great enough to interferewith the ejection of the cast slug should the operator fail to make the proper mold adjustment. In other words the slug will always be able to pass tl'irough the trimming knives so that no dang-er can result from the most exaggerated mal-adjustment of the mold.

lVhile the invention has been described above as applied to ahead-lettei mold, it is equally applicable to the regular or unrecessed type of mold E shown in Fig. 6. Thi type of mold, as is well-known, is designed to cooperate with matrix lines at two dillerent levels, instead of one only as in the case of the head-letter mold A, and for such purpose the mold is ordinarily provided with two superposed matrix aligning ribs, the up .per rib ll being located at the usual level adjacent the mold slot, and the lower rib FF (which is usually formed on a so-called keeper plate E secured to the mold body) being located at a given distance below the rib E In adaoting the present improvements to a mold so constructed, the keeper plate is provided with transverse apertures c, 0 arranged one above the other below and rib so as to afford clearance for the head of the center pin D and the tapered head of its associated setscrew I), respectively. The body of the mold E is formed with a recess a corresponding to the recess A in the mold A, but which in th s instance is comparatively shallow and serves merely to permit free movement of the segmental flange (Z of the pin 1). The mold E is sustained in precisely the same manner as the mold A. by means oi the eccentric portions D of the pins D and D and may be adjusted as and when desired by performing the same operations in the order before described.

It is recognized to be old broadly to mount a mold adjustably in its holding pocket, as for example as shown in the Pearce & Billington Patent No. 1,220,782. The present arrangement however is far superior, since it presents advantages which the prior construction lacks entirely. For instance, one of the important features of this invention resides in the fact that the adjustable mold supporting means and the meld clamping means are arranged substantially in the same plane so that the clamping pressure and the resistance pressure are directly opposed. The advantage of such disposition of the parts will be derived whether the adjusting pins are supported on the lower wall of the mold holding pocket or not. The same is true so far as the location of the adjusting pins in line with the clamping screws is concerned. Again, another important feature of the invention is that the mold adjusting pins are carried by the mold, making a self-contained unit which can be applied to and removed from the machine as such. This same feature possesses added importance when the adjusting pins are arranged to bank upon the lower wall of the mold holding pocket, since in that way the improved mold may be applied to any of the outstanding linotype machines without change and used interchangeably with the standard molds now employed. Furthermore, the limited eccentricity of the mold adjusting pins is another feature of advan tage, because it eliminates all possibility of injury to the parts due to carelessness or ignorance on the partof the operator. The advantages of the adjustable multi-point support of the mold have already been rather fully dealt with, but the feature is mentioned again lest its importance be overlooked or unduly minimized. These and other advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold, a carrier presenting a wall whereon the mold is supported, means for clamping the mold against said wall, and means, adjustable at will and while the mold is in place, arranged between the supporting Wall and the mold for positioning the latter on the carrier and out of contact with the supporting wall.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold, a carrier formed with an aperture or pocket presenting a lower wall whereon the mold is supported and an upper 1 wall directly opposed to the lower wall,

means arranged between the upper wall and mold for clamping itagainst the lower wall, and means, adjustable at will and while the mold is in place, arranged between the lower supporting wall and the mold for positioning the latter within the pocket and out of contact with said supporting wall.

3. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold, a carrier formed with an aperture or pocket presenting a lower wall whereon the mold is supported and an upper wall directly opposed to the lower wall, a plurality of binding screws mounted at selected points in the upper wall and acting to clamp the mold upon the lower wall, and a corresponding plurality of members mounted in the mold and engaging the lower wall of the pocket, said members being aligned with the respective binding screws and adjustable independently while the mold is in place to tilt or move the mold bodily in relation to the supporting wall to support the mold out of contact with said supporting wall.

at. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold, a carrier formed with an aperture or pocket presenting a lower wall whereon the mold is supported and an upper wall directly opposed to the lower wall, a plurality of binding screws mounted at selected points in the upper wall and acting to clamp the mold upon the lower wall, and a corresponding plurality of pins rotatably mounted in the mold and formed with eccentric portions engaging the lower supporting wall of the pocket, said eccentric portions being vertically aligned with the respective binding screws and adapted by a partial rotationof the pins to tilt or move the mold bodily in relation to the supporting wall.

5. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold, a rotatable disk formed withan aperture or pocket presenting a lower wall whereon the mold is supported and an upper wall directly opposed to the lower wall, means arranged between the upper wall and mold for clamping it against the lower wall, and a plurality of pins mounted transversely at definite points in the mold and formed with eccentric portions engaging the supporting wall of the pocket, said pins being capable of rotary adjustment and the eccentric portions thereof being adapted by an adjustment of the individual pins to locate the mold relative to the axis of the disk and to position it within the pocket.

6. In a slug casting machine, the co1nbination of a slotted mold, a carrier formed with an aperture or pocket presenting a lower wall whereon the mold is supported, and means for adjusting the mold relatively to said wall including a plurality of rotatably adjustable pins mounted transversely in the mold and formed with eccentric portions engaging the supportlng wall of the pocket, and set screws for locking the pins against rotation in their adjusted positions, one of said set screws being mounted in the mold parallel to the associated adjusting pin and formed with a head portion engaging a segmental flange tion of a slotted mold, a rotatable disk provided with an aperture or pocket presenting a lower wall whereon the mold is supported and an upper wall directly opposed to the lower Wall, screws located at definite points in the upper wall for clamping the mold down upon the lower wall, and rotatably adjustable pins formed with eccentric portions located directly below the respective screws and engaging the lower wall, said eccentric portions being adapted by an adjustment of the pins to locate the mold in relation to the axis of the disk and to position it properly within the pocket.

8. Ina slug casting machine, the combination of a mold carrier, a slotted mold, and means for supporting the mold on the carrier at three separated points, said means comprising three independently adjustable members, one located at or near the center of Y the mold, and the other two at or near the op posite ends of the mold respectively.

9. A combination as specified in claim 4, characterized by the fact that the eccentricity of the mold adjusting pins therein'referred to is such that the greatest adjustment of the mold by the pins will be insuliicient to permitthe ejection of a slug therefrom through the trimming knives with which the mold is intended to cooperate.

In testimony whereof, this specification has been duly signed by:

EDWIN W. PIERSON. FRED C. GRUMMAN. 

